Castlerea - Clonalis House - 20190823040950

Clonalis House (), Castlerea,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

, Ireland, is the ancestral home of the O'Conor Don, who is a direct descendant Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, a younger brother of the last

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...

, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. Clonalis was constructed in 1878 by Charles Owen O'Conor as a replacement for an earlier house on the same site which was frequently damaged by flooding. Built of mass concrete, its design by Frederick Pepys Cockerell is of a mixture of styles drawing on the traditions of Italianate and

Queen Anne Style architecture The Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of the ...

. Its history reflects the turbulence of Irish history having once been occupied by the Irish Republican Army before it was shelled and captured by Free State Forces during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

. Some 100,000 volumes are contained in the family archives and library of the O'Conor Don which are still held at Clonalis House, making it a valuable repository of Irish history.

External links

{{coord, 53.7667, N, 8.5000, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:IE, display=title Buildings and structures in County Roscommon Houses in the Republic of Ireland O'Conor dynasty Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Museums in County Roscommon

Further reading

External links